Olympus PEN E-P1 disassembly and infrared / wide spectrum mod

matt_j · Sep 11, 2012

Hello all. As yet another of my Olympus modifications i took up the task to convert my E-P1 to shoot in wide spectrum. I prepared a short writeup tutorial with pictures of its disassembly. It's a very interesting camera internally. I noticed how the PEN is made out of blocks. Inside the idea seems similar to RICOH’s modular system. We’ve got a bigass sensor and lens mount module, and the controls totally separate. What’s more the top, bottom and sides are easily replaceable. It's an awesome piece of engineering!

Here's a link to my writeup; http://digital-photography.pl/olympus-pen-e-p1-disassembly-and-wide-spectrum-conversion/ . I hope it's not a violation of the rules. My website is quite niche and strictly non-commercial.

http://digital-photography.pl/olympus-pen-e-p1-disassembly-and-wide-spectrum-conversion/

C&C and thoughts very welcome!

--
http://www.digital-photography.pl

Cani · Sep 11, 2012

Thanks for sharing!!

Yohan Pamudji · Sep 11, 2012

Very cool! But once you disassemble it how do you mod it for IR?

matt_j · Sep 11, 2012

Thank you for your feedback

I didn't write about replacing the filter itself on purpose this time. The conversion is not a walk in the park and I'm sending interested readers to my previous tutorials where this is explained. That, and it's a bit tedious to repeat the same thing over and over again each time I write a tutorial.

I might directly address the question of the filters once I update the tutorial with real samples

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http://www.digital-photography.pl

matt_j · Sep 14, 2012

Hello all,

I'm continuing my experiments with wide spectrum images.

I also put up a short (but cool I think and hope) demonstration of how different infrared filters affect the default wide spectrum image of a converted camera:

http://youtu.be/tidt7qzOiJc

If interested in details, please see my original post in this thread

--
http://www.digital-photography.pl

Bobby Handal · Sep 14, 2012

thanks so much for this, really helpful.
--
http://www.photoexpedition.net
http://www.fotoclubhonduras.com

Geesix · Sep 14, 2012

I would be very interested in the disassembling article. My E-P1 cannot take any sd card because of a bend pin. Thank you in advance.
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Nam

matt_j · Sep 15, 2012

I remember repairing a bent pin in E-3's CF slot

There's a million of them there compared to what you need to have repaired in the SD slot of your PEN. You should go right ahead and do it. Even though my tutorial doesn't cover taking apart this particular section of the camera, you'll easily figure out what needs to be done once you're inside. Good luck!
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http://www.digital-photography.pl

madmaxmedia · Jul 2, 2014

Way late to this party, but that second image is absolutely amazing...very haunting.

Anyway, thanks for posting the disassembly guide! I've taken apart stuff before, so with your guide was able to disassemble a user E-P1 to fix the thumb dial. The trick is almost always to know which screws to remove, and your guide gave me that information.

After that, disassembly was pretty easy. It's nice to know the outer panels are easily replaceable if needed (assuming you could find replacements on EBay, etc.) Even replacing the rear LCD seems relatively manageable.

matt_j · Jul 14, 2014

You're very welcome! I'm happy you like the photo. I remember that processing it was a little tricky!

I'm now getting ready to convert an E-M5 that I kind of broke letting it fall (for a split second!) into the salty water :/

Ogrex · Aug 10, 2014

Hi Matt... have really appreciated you posting your tutorials. I have a question, now that I have an Oly EM1 and EPM2 as my main/backup shooting bodies... I have an "extra" E-P1 and E-PL3 bodies, one of which I would like to convert. Obviously the E-PL3 will be a better camera to use, but is there a significant difference in effort required based on your experience?

matt_j · Aug 12, 2014

Hi Ogrex, thanks for the feedback

I´m glad that you found that stuff useful.

Well yeah... E-P1 is quite easy to convert. It´s twice larger and laid-out in a way that is easy to disassemble. While it is totally possible to convert an E-PL3 I found it much more difficult. Basically you need to strip it to bare bone.

I don´t think that you would see a big quality improvement in your IR shots taken with the E-PL3 versus E-P1. The only big advantage I can think of is the optional viewfinder that would help you greatly to focus those manual lenses...

Good luck

superflyguy · Aug 12, 2014

matt_j said:
Hello all. As yet another of my Olympus modifications i took up the task to convert my E-P1 to shoot in wide spectrum. I prepared a short writeup tutorial with pictures of its disassembly. It's a very interesting camera internally. I noticed how the PEN is made out of blocks. Inside the idea seems similar to RICOH’s modular system. We’ve got a bigass sensor and lens mount module, and the controls totally separate. What’s more the top, bottom and sides are easily replaceable. It's an awesome piece of engineering!

Here's a link to my writeup; http://digital-photography.pl/olympus-pen-e-p1-disassembly-and-wide-spectrum-conversion/ . I hope it's not a violation of the rules. My website is quite niche and strictly non-commercial.

http://digital-photography.pl/olympus-pen-e-p1-disassembly-and-wide-spectrum-conversion/

C&C and thoughts very welcome!

--
http://www.digital-photography.pl

Great post, very interesting and elaborate project - thanks for sharing.

--
Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind
George Orwell

Ogrex · Aug 13, 2014

Yeah I would really like to be able to use my viewfinder for these shots. Maybe I'll just wait and see if I can find a used E-P2 around for a good price, and then mod that one. Internals are close enough to the E-P1 that it should be an identical mod (I would think). I don't need this many camera bodies, but it's probably a good idea in case I destroy one :-D

matt_j · Aug 14, 2014

Yest, The E-P2 is identical internally. Optionally you could try the E-PL2

http://digital-photography.pl/olympus-e-pl2-infrared-wide-spectrum-conversion/

Ogrex · Aug 18, 2014

Just found a used E-P2. Looking forward to cracking it open. Can you advise about the size of borofloat glass you cut for the Oly cameras? Apologies if you mention in it one of your reviews - I couldn't find any mention of dimensions.

Ogrex · Aug 18, 2014

Nevermind - I found reference to the dimensions in the comments on one of your tutorials. Cheers.

matt_j · Aug 20, 2014

Good Luck!

superflyguy · Aug 20, 2014

matt_j said:
I remember repairing a bent pin in E-3's CF slot There's a million of them there compared to what you need to have repaired in the SD slot of your PEN. You should go right ahead and do it. Even though my tutorial doesn't cover taking apart this particular section of the camera, you'll easily figure out what needs to be done once you're inside. Good luck!
--
http://www.digital-photography.pl

Thanks, I've bookmarked your web page, very informative.

I had a 3rd party battery bulge up inside my E-P3, was such a struggle to remove it and I ended up badly scratching the case surrounding the battery compartment.

Do you have any tips on easily removing them?

Needless to say I don't use 3rd party batteries anymore....

graham1943 · Apr 10, 2019

HI. Can you help me i have disassembly olympus pen e-p1 but i dont no how to remove the top plate many thanks

Olympus PEN E-P1 disassembly and infrared / wide spectrum mod

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